~ A Glimpse of Life on a Working Cattle Ranch

Afternoon Fun

We try to do things together as a family, especially ranch activities. During the school year this can be challenging, but we still try to squeeze in a few things that involve all six of us.

One of our more common outings is checking cattle in the fields close to our house. Right now, we have some young cows in these fields. Most of these cows arrived at our ranch about ten days ago.

They came from Texas and were a little thin when they got here, but are filling out fast. We are excited about these young cows, they fit nicely into our main herd and seem to be adapting to life in Idaho quite well.

Yesterday’s outing involved two parents, four kids and three dogs. A typical crew for our family outings. This time, however, we (that would be the boys of the family) thought it would be fun if we took Ol’ Whitey for a spin.

Meet Ol’ Whitey:

I love these old pick-ups. They remind me of pick-ups my Dad had while I was growing up. No power steering, windows that must be manually wound up or down, the standard four-speed transmission, and A/C is regulated by how far you want to roll down your window.

My husband and I both shared stories with our children about riding in pick-ups similar to this one while we were growing up. We were both laughing and telling our kids how much fun it was to bounce across the field with our Dad.

It was then that my right leg fell asleep. Next, the back of my three year old’s head ricocheted off of my chin.

My kids were grinning from ear to ear as we bounced across the field. Me? I was thinking fondly of the four door pick-up parked back at our house. The one with real shocks, plenty of leg room and a seat for everyone. I was about to ask if anyone else was having similar thoughts when I caught another glimpse of my kids’ faces. They were having a great time. We were together as a family. They love this old pick-up.